Gas discharge lamps, including high pressure discharge lamps, low pressure discharge lamps (domestic florescent lamps) or sodium vapour street lamps are popular lighting solutions in many domestic and commercial environments. Part of its popularity is due to its relative low cost, long life and high efficiency which has seen gas discharge lamps being installed in various buildings, vehicles, aircraft and government infrastructure.
More recently, modern forms of lighting technologies have become increasingly popular as developments of lighting solutions continue. Examples of these modern forms of lighting include Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) arrays, which are safer, more controllable, longer lasting and more efficient. These modern lighting systems are gradually replacing many traditional applications of gas discharge lamps in buildings and vehicles. However, a hurdle being faced by users of these modern forms of lighting is that existing electrical infrastructure may not be suitable to operate these lighting solutions. This is because many of these lighting solutions have completely different electrical characteristics when compared with gas discharge lamps and in some cases, the fact that many of these lighting systems work with regulated Direct Current power supplies, new infrastructure such as power supplies, wiring, ballasts and the like must also be installed. This inturn increases the costs of upgrading to more modern forms of lighting technology and has forced many decision makers to continue to use less efficient lighting technologies.